NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Piedmont 96, Oglethorpe 67
Records: Piedmont, 2-2; Oglethorpe, 2-0
DEMOREST, Ga. - The Piedmont men's basketball team opened up the home schedule in style on Wednesday night, racing past Oglethorpe 96-67 at Cave Arena.
The Lions jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, catching fire on the offensive end and forcing 14 Stormy Petrel turnovers en route to the comfortable victory.
In his first game back at Cave Arena since a season-ending injury last season, senior point guard
RYAN JOLLY did it all, scoring a season-best 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go with six assists, four rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Jolly led a group of five Lions in double figures with three scoring 10 or more points off the bench, as
NOAH REARDON (13), Devin Dean (12) and
AARON PALMER (10) helped Piedmont total 51 bench points in the contest.
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Piedmont dominated on both ends of the floor in the first half, forcing nine turnovers from Oglethorpe and holding the Stormy Petrels to 33 percent shooting from the field.
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Eight different Lions scored in the first half out of the 10 that saw action, led by Jolly's 13 points. Â
ORRY CLEMENTS-OWENS opend the game with two straight field goals, knocking down the first three-pointer of the game as Piedmont scored the first 10 points of the contest before the Stormy Petrels got on the board.
The bench sparked the Lions in the first half, as Dean (8),
JOE HELENBROOK (7) and Reardon (6) provided scoring punch for the Lions in the first 20 minutes.
Piedmont's 48 first-half points marked a season high through the first four games.
The second half brought more dominance from the Lions, as they never allowed Oglethorpe inside of 14 points for the duration of the contest. Back-to-back three pointers by Clements-Owens gave Piedmont a 66-45 lead at the 14:44 mark of the second half.
Palmer delivered an outstanding second half in the paint, scoring eight of his 10 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting in the half.Â
Piedmont was rock solid at the free throw line down the stretch, going 13-of-16 from the stripe in the second half to erase any hope that Oglethorpe had of making a comeback.
Up next, the Lions will go back to the road to take part in the Millsaps College Tournament, battling Centenary this Friday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m.
TURNING POINT:
- The Lions blitzed the Stormy Petrels out of the gate, scoring the game's first 10 points to grab control in the early going.
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STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- Jolly led the Lions with 21 points and six assists, while also pitching in four rebounds and two blocks.
- Clements-Owens tied for the team lead with thee three-pointers, pitching in 11 points.
- Reardon also banked three three-pointers, leading the host of outstanding bench performers with 13 points.
- Dean tallied a season-high 12 points on 4-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from the foul line.
- Palmer delivered 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
NEWS AND NOTES:
- This marks the third in the last four seasons that the Lions have opened the home schedule with a double-digit win.
- Piedmont's 96 points marks the most scored in a home opener in Head Coach Greg Neeley's tenure.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Piedmont tallied an incredible 51 bench points.
- The Lions outscored the Stormy Petrels 48-26 in the paint.
HOW TO FOLLOW:
-Â To stay up to date on all information regarding Piedmont University Athletics, be sure to visit PiedmontLions.com and connect with the Green and Gold on social media. Follow the Lions onÂ
Twitter: @PiedmontLions,Â
Instagram: @PiedmontLions, andÂ
Facebook. To follow each Piedmont athletic program on social media, use the Social Media Directory at PiedmontLions.com orÂ
click here.
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